Like a moth to a flame and a line of cars to a grand opening of a fast food chain opening in an area for the first time, whenever Starbucks offers its coffee in cans or bottles, I must flock to it to get my caffeine fix in a handy recyclable container. The newest additions are the Starbucks Canned Cold Brew Premium Coffee Drinks that come in three flavors: Vanilla Sweet Cream, Chocolate Cream, and Salted Caramel Cream. Unfortunately, I was only able to find the first two.
A Trenta-sized Vanilla Sweet Cream Cold Brew is my go to drink at Starbucks, and this canned version tastes nothing like it. Instead, it’s similar to other canned vanilla coffee drinks that have a light coffee flavor and are heavy on the cream, sugar, and flavoring. That’s not necessarily a bad thing because love those kinds of drinks and buy them regularly. But because this tastes similar to those, there’s nothing compelling for me to prefer it over them, especially because those drinks come in 12- or 16-ounce bottles or cans, while this one comes in an 11-ounce skinny can.
Chocolate Cream is my favorite between the two flavors I purchased, mainly because, when the drink is shaken or stirred lightly, it’s like I’m drinking chocolate milk. The Arabica coffee only comes through when the it’s been sitting for a while, giving it a pleasant mocha flavor, but give it a swirl, and it tastes like chocolate milk again. Very good.
But here’s the thing with both smooth java drinks, and some other bottled and canned Starbucks drinks: I have no idea how much caffeine these have. The amount is not printed anywhere on the can, unlike Starbucks Doubleshot and Tripleshot Energy Drinks. It feels like I’m getting some pumped into my bloodstream with every sip, but that could be a placebo effect, since my body equates coffee to caffeine. Not knowing that number is a deciding factor. If I’m getting 50 milligrams of caffeine, not even tasting like chocolate milk will convince me to buy the Chocolate Creme one over any mocha energy coffee with two or three times more.
Purchased Price: $3.99 each
Size: 11 fl oz cans
Purchased at: Target
Rating: 6 out of 10 (Vanilla Sweet Cream), 7 out of 10 (Chocolate Cream)
Nutrition Facts: (1 can) Vanilla Sweet Cream 120 calories, 2.5 grams of fat, 1.5 grams of saturated fat, 10 milligrams of cholesterol, 45 milligrams of sodium, 19 grams of carbohydrates, 0 grams of fiber, 17 grams of sugar (including 13 grams of added sugar), and 4 grams of protein. Chocolate Cream – 130 calories, 3 grams of fat, 1.5 grams of saturated fat, 10 milligrams of cholesterol, 90 milligrams of sodium, 22 grams of carbohydrates, 0 grams of fiber, 20 grams of sugar (including 15 grams of added sugar), and 4 grams of protein.
